Mazda Nabs 22nd Automobile All-Star Award with 2014 Mazda Mazda3

Critically Acclaimed Compact Earns 4th Individual Honor

With a sales rate that is slowly but surely catching up to its stellar reputation, the 2014 Mazda Mazda3 recently was named to the 2014 Automobile Magazine All-Star team. It marked the fourth time a Mazda3 has been recognized by the publication, although that also represents just a fraction of the automaker's All-Star total.

Said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO of Mazda North American Operations: "To be named an Automobile Magazine All-Star for the 22nd time is a humbling honor. Mazda is by no means a large car company yet is no less driven to excel, whether it be on performance, design, technology or quality. And the confirmation that we're succeeding in those aspects continues with approval from critics and consumers alike."

In addition, the Mazda3 claimed another spot on the annual Car and Driver "10Best" list, and was designated a Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Now, it's true that the 2014 Mazda Mazda3 hasn't achieved quite that kind of buzz on the sales charts, but the nameplate did creep into the black in March when its 10,536 deliveries represented a .3 percent bump in volume over March 2013. More importantly, sales of the car increased by an impressive 15.8 percent last month on a retail basis, while retail sales for the first quarter of 2014 are up by 12.7 percent.

The bottom line on the 2014 Mazda Mazda3 from Automobile's associate editor, David Zenlea: "Long the most entertaining of compact cars, the Mazda3 now also happens to be one of the nicest. The switchgear feels nearly as good as that in our BMW 4-Series—right down to the click-wheel controller—and, amazingly, so does the steering."